Dear Tucker,
It was excruciating watching the interview you did with Ted Cruz a few days ago. Apart from the confusion regarding the political realities on the ground, you made several theological errors too.
Let’s start with Genesis 12:3, which Senator Cruz quoted. It obviously does not say we are to bless the “nation of Israel” — Israel was not the name at that time. The passage refers to Abraham and his physical seed, which became the nation of Israel.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
You see, Abraham had two nations: one physical (Israel) and the other spiritual (believers in Jesus). The Genesis 12:2-3 prophecy shows the difference between the two.
1. In v. 2 he tells Abraham that he’s going to make him into a great nation, singular. It’s that group of people about whom God says in the next verse, “I will bless those who bless and curse those who curse you.”
2. It’s only after that that God says, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The primary way that Abraham has been a blessing to all the nations of the earth is through bringing the Messiah, Jesus, into the world.
But your question was, “Is the modern nation of Israel biblical Israel?” I think this is a great question. Sadly, most Evangelicals have simply blessed Israel because they were told, like Senator Cruz, that it was the right thing to do. But theologically, they can’t make the case.
Let me try.
You asked Senator Cruz, “So [the modern nation of Israel] is what God is talking about in Genesis?” Yes. If you continue to read through Genesis, he also promises to this group of people, the Jewish people — Abraham’s children through Isaac and Jacob — what we now know as the land of Israel. God tells Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at different times that this is an “everlasting covenant” that was “the oath I swore,” and regarding “the land … I will give to you and to your offspring” (Gen 17:7-8, 26:3-4, 48:4).
Is modern-day Israel also biblical Israel?
There are dozens of prophecies in the Hebrew Bible that speak of the restoration of Israel as a nation: “I will take you (Israel) from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land” (Ezek 36:24). It says it would happen in the End Times (Amos 9:14–15, Ezek 37:21–22). Jeremiah tells of a mass exodus of Jewish people from “the land of the north” (Jer 16:14-15); Over 1,000,000 Jews returned to Israel from the former Soviet Union between 1991 and 2000, directly north of Israel.
So, what you have to ask yourself is, have these prophecies been fulfilled in the modern nation of Israel? Ethnic Jews, proven by DNA, have gone back to their homeland after 2,000 years, fulfilling prophecies that were given roughly 2,500 years ago through virtually every Hebrew prophet. [1]
So let me just appeal to your common sense. What are the chances of this happening? Considering that Israel was conquered over and over again (Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans), it’s a miracle that the Jewish people have any representation left on the planet.
First, if the prophets were not speaking about present-day Israel, then she is one of the most remarkable coincidences in history. Second, if not Jews, to whom, then, are the prophets referring? Did the Church come out of the land of the north? No. Was the Church regathered from all over the world back into the land of Israel? No. But the Jewish people were. Even if one spiritualizes those verses to the Church, one cannot deny that the physical descendants of Abraham returned to the land promised to Abraham and his descendants forever, and built a prosperous nation. One would have to be intellectually dishonest not to see the connection between the prophecies and the fact that there is a nation of Israel today filled with Jewish people on the covenantal land. It’s a miracle.
The New Testament speaks of Israel’s positive future
In Romans 11, Paul clearly states that ethnic Israel has a future. He says they have been temporarily blinded so that the Gospel can prosper amongst the nations (Romans 11:25). But in the End Times, the hardness of heart will be removed and “all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:26). He explains three verses later that the the call of God on the nation of Israel is irrevocable (v. 29). He is emphatically stating that God’s calling on Israel will never be anulled or invalidated. This is because of God’s faithfulness, not Israel’s righteousness. God has preserved Israel for his own glory and purposes.
Does that mean I have to honor politicians?
You don’t honor the politicians; you honor the God of Israel. Despite Israel, God has been faithful. See Jeremiah 31:35-37, where God says specifically that he will not reject Israel for all she has done, and as long as the stars, moon, and sun continue to operate, he will be faithful to the Jewish nation. Disqualifying Israel due to bad behavior involves flawed reasoning. If God were going to disqualify people based on bad behavior, then much of the Church would be in very big trouble. But God is gracious.
Your savior is a Jew
Jesus is still Jewish. After his resurrection, he is referred to as the “seed of David” (Rom 1:3), and in Revelation 5:5 as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” and the “Root of David.” According to Zechariah 14:3-4, he will return to the Mount of Olives (in Israel!). That’s where He left from, and the angel said He would return in the same way (Acts 1:9-11). Revelation 1:7 says that when He comes, every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him… which is very similar to Zechariah 12:10, a passage that speaks of the Jewish people realizing that the one they pierced is the Messiah.
The Bibi problem
The problem many people have is that they look at someone like Netanyahu and see him as an unsavory character (and others see him as an honorable leader), and think, “How can that be biblical Israel?” Biblical Israel had people far worse than Netanyahu as leaders, such as Ahab and Jezebel, and Manasseh, who “did evil in the eyes of the LORD.” And those leaders will give an account to the Almighty. However, according to Paul, that did not disqualify the entire nation (Rom 11:29). There are unsavory politicians worldwide. In America. In Israel. Certainly in Russia. Loving Israel is about believing and contending for her salvation, recognizing that Israel was blinded so the Gospel could come to you, Tucker — the Gentiles.
I am an Israeli, and I criticize my own government. I don’t give them a free pass because we are a modern fulfillment of prophecy. Unlike in Iran or your beloved Russia, we can criticize our government with no fear of being put in jail or murdered. When Israel was chosen in the Old Testament, God would judge her when she erred. Israel is still chosen today, but when we are disobedient, there are consequences.
The Jewish people will embrace Yeshua
In Matthew 23:39, Jesus tells the Jews of Jerusalem that He will not return until they welcome Him as Messiah. How can they do that if there are no Jews in Jerusalem or if there’s no Jerusalem? It is believed that the biblical Joseph, who was rejected by his brothers and became the most powerful man in the world, was a prophetic type (example) pointing to Jesus. After many years, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and they were reunited, but only after he was a blessing to the world. In the same way, Jesus’s Jewish brothers rejected him, and He has been a blessing to the nations. But in the End Times, He will remove the blindness and reveal Himself, and they will be reunited — it’s already happening. I am a Jewish believer in Jesus, and so is my wife.
You’re smarter than that
As stated above, there’s no other example of people being separated from their geographical homeland and remaining a people. The fact that we are on a tiny sliver of land outnumbered more than 99 to 1 by those who would be our enemies, and we have been able to win every war and prosper as a nation, is a miracle.
Why should you bless Israel?
Now that we have established that modern Israel is biblical Israel, and a fulfillment of prophecy, you might want to know why you should support her. It is a valid question. Here are nine reasons you should stand with Israel:
1. Without the Jewish people, we have no Bible. Most, if not all, of the New Testament authors were Jewish.
2. God used Israel to bring the Messiah into the world. “This is the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ), son of David, son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). Matthew feels it is significant that his readers understand that Jesus came into the world through the Jewish people.
3. According to Paul, God purposely blinded Israel to the truth so that the Gospel would go to the Gentiles. Mass Jewish salvation, according to many theologians, would’ve triggered the Second Coming.[2] So God puts a pause on Jewish salvation for 2,000 years, while the Gospel makes its way around the world. Only now are we seeing more and more Jewish people come to faith in Jesus. Romans 11:11-12 says, “Again I ask: Did [Israel] stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? No may it never be! Rather, because of [Israel’s] transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!”
4. The Jewish apostles took the message of salvation to the nations. (Acts 1:8) Paul, a Jewish rabbi planted New Testament communities all over Europe in Asia.
5. Paul tells the Romans (Rom 15:25-27) that they have a debt to Israel because Israel brought them Jesus.
“Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed, they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”
Paul clearly has an expectation that Gentile followers of Jesus will bless the Jewish people. He’s referring specifically in this passage to an offering that he was taking back to Israel because of a famine.
6. Jesus is coming back to modern-day Israel. Zechariah says that he returns to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Zech 14:4). The Jewish people weep and recognize him as Messiah (Zech 12:10). Isaiah says, and Paul repeats it, “the redeemer will come to Zion.” If Zionism is a dirty word, throw out your Bible. Jesus is a Zionist!
7. The Jewish people were a womb of prayer that brought Jesus into the world — people like Simeon and Anna (See Luke 2:25-38). These two were prototypes mentioned in the Bible and represent tens of thousands of Jewish people like them who were praying for the Messiah to come. God is looking to the Church to be a womb of prayer that will intercede for Israel’s salvation — that they will recognize Jesus as their Messiah.
8. The Bible tells believers to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, “May they prosper who love you [Jerusalem]” (Psalm 122:6). He calls Gentile believers to be watchmen on her walls (Is. 62:6-7). He tells these watchmen to do this until Jerusalem is the praise of all the earth. In other words, Israel’s imperfections should cause us to pray more, not to reject her.
9. God will curse those who curse Abraham and his seed. He will bless those who bless her. This is the verse that Ted Cruz could not find (Gen 12:3), and where we started. Tucker, you would not be a Christian today and may be sacrificing your children to false gods, except for the contribution of the Jewish people.
I hope this helps you see why the Bible clearly and explicitly commands Christians to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
Jewish people have been murdered by Christians for being Jewish. It’s all throughout Church history. In the Crusades. The inquisitions. During the Black Plague, entire Jewish communities were blamed and murdered. And now Iran is trying to get a nuclear bomb to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. Just like Haman (from the book of Esther), the Persian Prime Minister failed in his efforts in antiquity to murder the Jewish people, the Persian Ayatollah Khomeini is failing. The question is, Tucker, why are you so hostile to the Jewish people?
I pray that you will look up all of those passages and give them deep consideration. Thank you.
[1] Meaning the ones who have their names connected to Books: Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Hosea, Daniel, etc.
[2] See Mark Kinzer, Postmissionary Messianic Judaism.
Ron Cantor is the CEO of Tikkun International, a global family of Messianic congregations and leaders. He also serves as the Regional Director for GOD TV in Israel and Shelanu TV. He has written several books on the Jewishness of the New Testament including his historical-fantasy novel Identity Theft.
